Sculpted Shadows: The Tear
by jacejosujura
Summary: Jace and Liliana have earned the right to a quiet life and a normal family, but their lives are anything but. A friend from the past comes calling, threatening to tear their new family asunder before it really begins.
1. Prologue

**Here is part two of the Sculpted Shadows Series, The Tear. We are looking forward to carrying on the story! A storm is rolling in, and here we go! **

**J3 and LTK **

**(Jace Beleren)**

"What part of any business you have with her you have with me don't you understand, dolt?" I spit at the beast mage, shadow mage, I don't know what he is. All I know is that my wife is pregnant with our child and I will not let anything happen to them.

"This is family business, you three inch fool," he fires back at me, malice in his eyes.

"You're damn right it is, you bastard. That's my family. _ My wife. My pregnant wife. We've already lost one and I'll be damned if anything happens to this one. _I don't give a damn who you say you are. Get. Away. From. My. Wife."

"She was my sister long before she married you, and had I been here, she wouldn't have." He snarls at me.

"Looks like you're a little late to the party, then, friend? You don't know anything about her, and how do I know you are who you say you are? You won't get near her."

"Please stop," I hear Liliana say, but it doesn't register with me. The only thing I am concerned about is keeping my wife and my child safe. I turn to look at her and she looks like she is about to faint, and in this moment, that's the only thing that matters.

"Sit down, love. Please don't get stressed out. You can't be more than six weeks, and you don't need to be stressing over anything. I'm going to call Gideon and get him to walk you home while I deal with him."

"You won't take her anywhere, you pathetic, scrawny excuse for a man."

"He is my husband!"

"You never did know how to pick them, Liliana."

"You don't know anything about my marriage, cretin." The blue mana pounds through my veins.

"How'd you trick her into that one? Because my sister wouldn't have gotten married."

"She fell in love with me. No tricks."

"STOP! STOP! STOP IT!" Liliana shrieks, very obviously distressed.

"I have proven myself on the grounds of the multiverse, against many foes much greater than any blue tricks. I don't have to prove myself to some scrawny little counter mage with illusions. I have spent the last one hundred and fifty years scanning the multiverse, looking for you, Liliana Calliope! Do you see this?"

He rips his tunic off of his shoulder and all I see are crudely written runes, nowhere near as beautiful as Liliana's. However, she gasps. It's obvious she knows what it means and it is significant.

"What, love?" I address my wife.

"Those are my initials."

"That doesn't prove anything? What if it's a trick sent by Bolas, or the Dimir, or any of the people that hold grudges against you, they know how much you loved Josu. Everyone who knows you knows how much you loved your brother! Liliana, I do not care who he says he is. Please think with you brain and not your heart. _Liliana Vess inspires terror. _You're a mother now- protect our child. You can't let anyone into our world, Liliana, no matter how much you loved them in the past. We have to protect our baby!"

"If you do not cease talking, it will be you whom she _loved _and she will be with her real family, not one that she was tricked into."

"I wasn't tricked into anything, I love him! He is my _husband._"

"Hush. You never knew what was best for you anyways."

Blue mana starts to pour from my eyes. No one is going to speak to her that way. I pull Titan from the aether, and he wraps himself around Liliana, shielding her from danger. Calliope, my mindseeker, emerges next.

"Jace. There's no need for her to be out here! Please don't harm his mind!"

"My wife is a grown woman who has proven herself time and time again, against demons and beastmages, pyromancers and vampires, cathars and artificers. You will not speak to her like she is some insolent child. She is strong, independent, sassy, and she needs no one to make decisions for her. Take one more step in the direction of the mother of my child and I will wipe your very existence off the face of the multiverse, I will scatter your bits along the folds of the blind eternities and your being will rue the day you decided to step one more inch toward Liliana Beleren." I emphasize our last name. My name. Hers. The name our child will have.

"Her name is _Liliana Vess." _He stares daggers into me, the same look I have seen Liliana give Emmara, or Tezzeret. It's a special look she reserves for those that she loathes.

"No, it isn't. He is my husband and I took his name. Jace and I are two halves of a whole, and if you wish to prove who you say you are, you will listen to him, because he is the end-all, tell-all for this plane. Quite literally, his word is law."

He interrupts her monologue, spitting the words in her direction. "That means _nothing _to me, _he _means nothing to me."

"Well, he means everything to me."

"You're more far gone than I ever thought you would be, Liliana. He's poisoned your mind, you have fallen victim to his words. He's no family of yours."

"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb." Her voice is low but deadly.

"I never thought, in a million years, that you would react to me this way." He says, biting.

"You do not know how badly I wish to believe you. But after everything that we have been put through in the past year, it has taught me that, I can't believe anyone but the man standing beside me. Jace, " she spins a shade out of thin air. "They're on their way to your chambers."

Of course she's sent for Gideon, and Chandra, and Ral, Teysa too. She knows that we are not in anything alone. She is doing her part to protect our child. I think she is scared to channel magic, lest she lose our baby, like she did in the maze.

"We can meet in my office, in the Chamber of the Guildpact. But send messages to Laurel and Claire. I want them out of there, out of danger, free from harm. I won't endanger my staff."

"Why are you concerned for two women who are not your family, not your blood, no covenant of yours?" The man who claims to be my brother in law says, in a disgusted tone.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand. It took you nearly two centuries to find her. If you had actually cared you would have found her before I ever knew her, before she made a grave mistake. "

"Jace Rahl! Don't speak to him like that."

"Liliana! We don't even know who he is."

"I have kept my mouth shut for years about _her_, Jace, the least you can do for me is see if he's telling the truth."

"That's.. Okay, love. You're right."

"You should not have to barter with the man, _Lilia_._"_

The color drains from Liliana's face, she turns to face him. She takes a steadying breath and reaches for me, so I wrap an arm around her waist to brace her.

"How did you know that's what my brother called me from the time we were children?"

"Because I AM WHO I SAY I AM, Liliana! I do not appreciate that this man has such a grip on you that he can convince you, that your brother, the person who loved you first is not who he says he is! _I love him, _you say. _He's my husband, _you say. You sound like mother." Josu nearly spits at her.

Anger clenches at my very being. He's implying that she is weak and unable to tell me _no, _or that I'm emotionally manipulating her. That she would suffer by my hand like her mother did. I love her and our child more than my own life, I have proved that more than once.


	2. Nature's Herald

Sculpted Shadows: The Tear Chapter 2

"Turning Tides."(?)

"The Herald of Nature."(?)

"The Wanderer."(?)

Within the hour, we all sat in one of the many conference rooms that the Chamber housed. The Chamber was my base of operations, but it also served as a court house, meeting place for political organizations and committees as well as other functions pertaining to the safety of the citizens and governmental proceedings. My personal office would have been much too small for this "family gathering", as it was not intended to house approximately twelve people at one time. Plus, at least this way, the guards would have quick response and so would the safety measures, should anything happen to myself or Liliana, while Josu was 'visiting'. If he should try anything, it would be met with swift retaliation and he could possibly wind up as soup in the Blind eternities forever.

"So, Jace, can you tell us what this is about? I am not sure if you recall, but our office has been a little busy with all the "jobs" you've assigned us lately." Gideon said, fatigue present in both his voice and brow. He appeared very weary, like he hasn't slept in quite some time. I haven't seen hide or hair of Chandra, Ral or him in about a week or two, and it's my fault entirely. It's true, I have been keeping them both busy, Chandra running her own errands, but there was good reason for the jobs that have come down to the two of them. Really, I had no one else I could trust to do this research and even if they got caught, it would just appear as another guild spying on another guild. This is not how I've wanted my station to be run, but the Dimir have forced my hands since their last little charade, plus, that have yet to meet with me directly regarding the new agreements.

"Well, Gideon, I'm glad you asked. We apparently have someone here who claims to be Liliana's brother."

A stony silence filled the room. _'You need to be careful, there is something odd about him. Be on guard. I'm telling the same to Ral and Lavinia.'_ I transmitted these thoughts to the three of them and all gave a slight nod, but their minds betrayed their true thoughts. Ral's was a mixture of confusion and immediate spells he could cast, should he need too. Lavinia already had an arsenal ready, not wasting time. Just like the zealotry of the Azorius. Yet, Gideon was the only one who did not prepare any sort of incantation or spell or anything for that matter. His gaze was intent on Josu and his mind buzzed with mixed feelings. What he truly thought, I did not know, for I was not about to push deeper into this man's mind. I was not that man any longer. The last thing I need is for this stranger to say something or make an assumption before I've had a moment to discern his true nature or motives.

Liliana looked at me and she had a mixed look of terror and confusion. There have only been a handful of occasions where Lili has something other than smugness, lust or love on her face and now she had a look that told me she knew not if this was her late brother, or an impostor. How could we know, I cannot touch his mind with my magic and I'm not about to take his word on it. But, I could tell she wanted to believe it was him.

Yet, I could not force myself to just simply and blindly believe that this was the man I had heard so much about, that we talked late into the night about. I couldn't follow her whims on this one; my gut would just not allow it. I love my wife, and would take any advice she would give and just take her word on anything, but not this. Hell, for all I know he could be another Dimir spy to take another child from us or he could be working in conjunction with Garruk and is the second wave of Garruk's assault. Yet, another thought spiraled through my head, someone I hadn't thought about in a long time: Nicol Bolas. The dragon lord of Grixis would do anything to ensnare both Liliana and I into his webs and this very well could be one of those traps. The grinding gears of my mind spun faster and faster until Liliana called out to me, pulling me out of my proverbial rabbit hole.

"Jace?" she asked.

"Yes, my love?"

"What's on your mind, you've been silent for several minutes. What are you thinking about?" she asked, lightly touching my hand. Josu let out a slight scoff to this.

I cut a glance at Josu, the man claiming to be her brother. I didn't trust, nor did I intend on trusting him or believing him, ever. Our eyes were locked in a fierce stare, energy radiating from him constantly. It was a taste I was familiar with before, that I've fought against before. The demeanor he had to him was feral, like a wild beast set upon its next meal or his master's hunt. The crazed look under his eyes coupled with the bags, added to the ferocity and said more than a hundred thousand words ever could. He would never have to voice it or let me read his mind; I could see it on his face, in his eyes and tasted it in the air between us: He hated my guts and would probably love nothing more than to skewer me. It was like looking to the eyes of a beast before it gutted you and not a human being.

"I don't trust him, Liliana," I told her, eyes never leaving Josu.

"Don't worry, Mind mage, the feeling is mutual," he growled in his deep gruff voice.

"Jace, you don't even know him, what makes you so untrusting?" Lili said, trying to maintain the softness that she has acquired recently, it was almost motherly.

"Can you blame him, Liliana?" Ral said, nonchalantly.

"I understand that much of our life hasn't been easy these past months, Jace, but that doesn't mean we can't try to find some happiness, some light in the dark. Could you at least try to believe in him?" she said, sadness in her voice.

Looking around the room, I took in the occupants and swallowed hard. Ral, Gideon and Lavinia had tenseness to them, but the guards even more so. They've probably never faced or been in the same room as someone with some much power before, let alone five. The last four or five months had been especially taxing on us, and they haven't come easy and our friends have been there the entire time for us, never forsaking us. They were more than friends, they were family. We've fought for our little bit of peace and I wasn't about to allow him to ruin that. He will not destroy my family.

"Lili, what makes you think he's your brother?" My eyes once again burning into Josu's and he reciprocated. A new energy burned in the room as our little staring contest turned into a show of defiance to one another, neither of us backing down.

"What?" Lili asked.

"What makes you think that this…man is your brother? How odd is it that he just happens to show up, right after the man who wants you dead more than anything else leaves? I feel it's more of a coincidence that he just shows up. How do you know they aren't working together?" more than hostility was in my voice, it was pure disgust and repulsion at this man. However, I dare not reveal my thoughts about Nicol Bolas or the Dimir, not yet anyway.

A fist slams into the table, cracking it from the force of Josu's strength. He sprang to his feet and ever one was on guard, except Liliana. His mana was now coursing at full strength, the energy of a hundred thousand beasts poured from Josu and the air turned very hostile. The guards stayed between Josu and I, not moving and Gideon and Ral's weapons flared to life. If this fight breaks out, the guards will be dead and Josu will have dealt damage to all of us, or even kill me.

"I've had just enough out of your mouth, you skinny prick! You just think you can say whatever you please and no repercussions will come down on you?! You've probably have fooled everyone else and somehow tricked my sister into believing that you love her, but after I'm finished with you, that spell will be broken!" he yelled, pulling his fist from the hole he placed in the table.

"There is no spell, you're just blind to your own beliefs. No one has been put under a curse or spell, or whatever you may believe, but do not think you can just show up and disrupt my family!"

"Your family?! She is my family, and I'm leaving with her and your arrogant head!" Josu roared back.

"Then come and take—"

"Stop it! All of you!" Lili screamed at us. She was now standing up and put her hand on my arm, almost as a sign for me to stop. "There is no need for this, at all. Can you too stop acting like two children fighting over who gets to hold the pretty girl's hand? Honestly, it's childish."

"Liliana, move. I'm going to show him what happens when you mess with an actual family!"

That was the last straw. With barely any effort, a small pulse of mana pooled into my palm and was released in a small, but concentrated burst and hit Josu dead in the center of his chest before he had a moment to react. He flew backwards, the back of his head and hit the ground with a sickening thud. Lili screamed no at me and shock was on everyone's face.

"Jace! What the hell!? Knock it off!" she screamed at me. Every muscle and fiber in the room was taut, yet, no one moved except for Josu. He peeled himself from the floor and shook of the impact.

"Tell me something, Mind mage," Josu said, standing up completely, "have you ever faced death? Have you truly ever been so afraid of something, that it shook you to your very core?"

His eyes turned to slits as yet again, we locked gazes and however, this time there is a renewed bloodlust in his stare. "Josu, you don't threaten me, especially after what we've been through." No one had to know that my courage was faltering, but the thought of losing my one and only love made me stand my ground.

Josu took a few more steps towards the top, drawing his massive sword. The guards now stood firmly between us in a sort of semi-circle with Gideon in the middle. Mana of all types stirred within the room but the two that stood out amongst them all, was Josu and Lili's. The powers of nature and decay pulsated from the both of them. Just as it all seemed to come spiraling together; Josu preparing to launch himself at me and my offensive, a concussive force seemed to echo through the room and Lili was the epicenter. The force was not physical but the most powerful type o force in the multiverse: emotion.

"Stop it! All of you, right now!" she screamed, freezing the room. Everyone stopped, and mana stores emptied, releasing the pent up spells and all eyes were turned on Liliana. She was fuming angry, and I knew why, but I couldn't just allow this man to walk into my life and destroy it. Her face was red and a slight swell to her eyes indicated she was close to crying or could at this moment.

"Both of you will stop, and so help me by the blind eternities someone will incur my wrath." She turned to both of us, singling us out, as if it was just us three. "Josu, I know you don't trust Jace and you have good reason, but I am your sister and his wife, the least you could do is stop and listen to what I have to say. I understand it's been near 200 years, but not everything needs to resort to violence. Jace is not our father and you don't need to protect me from my own husband and the father of his and I's (is that correct) children and you need to respect that," she tore into Josu. It was evident that the words had stung him, and if they did so effectively, there was no telling what I would receive.

"And you!" she barked. Her rage could not be contained and was now set onto. "You're supposed to be my husband! You're supposed to stand by me, not against me. Instead of threatening my brother and giving him the cold shoulder, you could come to a solution with me. Between the two of you, this is ridiculous! Act like adults and not children!" she screamed.

"But we don't know if he's your brother." I yelled.

"What does it matter, Jace?!" she yelled.

"It matters because he could kill me and take you away! Or even kill you! Plus, I would be more apt to help him if he hadn't started with me the moment he arrived on this plane!" I snapped back at her.

"So, you're problem isn't so much with who he is, but because, 'he started it first'?" she said.

"Yes."

"Jace, in all the years I've known you, I never thought I would say this about you, but you are a child! Don't bother coming home tonight!" she screamed and left the conference room, slamming the door.

So there I stood, looking like a fool. I was supposed to be the "Great Guildpact," and I sounded like a child and caused a fight with my wife. Great. I stared at the door for a few more minutes and behind me I heard, "pffft," in unison from Ral and Josu both. I turned slightly to see them covering a smirk on their faces, giving me a defiant grin.

This was going to be a wonderful way day, I could already tell.


	3. Instinct

(Liliana Vess-Beleren)

"Liliana! Lili! Open the door!"

Jace's angry voice said from across the wooden barricade. As angry as he was, I was more so. My thoughts were still boiling with frustration and malice from Jace's encounter with Josu. When I locked eyes with the man who was _not _my husband, I knew he was who he said he was. His eyes, though hardened with many years of insanity, which I knew that I had inflicted; anger and even more years of fruitless searching, they still belonged to my Osu. Jace had absolutely no right to try to take this away from me, because if I could give him—no, us—back Kallist, I would. In a heartbeat.

"Liliana! This goes against everything that we promised! Open the goddamn door!"

Jace had a point. It had only been around three months since that fated moment in our bathroom floor. Face flushed with anger, breath heavy in my chest, I cracked my front door open and let my husband into the home that we had built, together.

Jace flung his arms around me, crushing me to his chest. In the past two years, these arms and his chest had become my refuge; my safe place. He was very obviously scared of something, afraid that he had messed up and I hated that even after all this time, I still stirred that feeling within him.

"I'm fine, we're fine, we're going to be fine," I said to my husband, pulling his hood down and peppering the side of his face and neck with kisses.

"Lili! I know that you want him back, that he was the only person throughout nearly two centuries that you ever missed, but please don't be reckless! We can't afford it. Look at where being careless got us before. In trouble with Garruk. In trouble with House Dimir. We can't afford to be careless!"

"I'm not being careless! I know it's him, Jace! I just know!"

"NO! You don't know! There is a block so strong on the man's mind that I can't push through it without threatening his life, and if he is who he says he is by some chance, I know that you would never forgive me! And if he was who he said he is, why would he even have such a block on his mind," Jace fumed.

"B-because…" I sank down on the too expensive couch that Laurel had no doubt picked for this house. My mind was going to shambles, my heart was breaking into a thousand pieces. I would never, ever be able to get through this story orally. Jace sinks down next to me, and I feel the soothing waves of his mind magic take over my brain. I just let him, and then let the story play itself out….

* * *

_Her mind was beautiful, and it was complex. It was easy for me to lose myself in the melodic cadence of her, it was, is, and always will be the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. But Liliana is trying to tell me a story, because there was no way that she could tell me verbally, lest she already would have. _

_She was just a child, she couldn't have been older than sixteen. There was some faceless man, and no doubt about what they had been doing. One look at him, he had been taking advantage of her. My breath was angry, though this was centuries ago, that man long since dead. Someone rouses her, my wife, and she tells them she's in love with this man, without a bit of hesitation, which was very unlike the woman that I had grown to know. Love was not a word that Liliana threw around. I doubt it was then, either. She was being used. How very unlike her, I thought. She was usually the one doing the using, the one on the powerful side of a deal. _

"_It's Josu," the girl tells her, and the younger version of my wife, her face once serene, panics. You could tell that the name meant everything in the world to her. Just like mine did, now. She runs through the walls of this manor; it was a dark, dank sort of place, but she seems to know where she was going. This is where she lived. With that monster of a man, and her protector, her brother. Josu._

_The picture flashes again, and there is a very harsh looking woman, maybe her mother. She didn't look very much like Liliana. _

"_JOSU! JOSU! PLEASE!" Liliana screeches at the man, who is lying there looking as if he's dead. The man is a very obviously a much younger version of the man that we met earlier. _

"_Why is he mute?!" Liliana demanded of the woman. _

"_It was a mage blade, Liliana, he's been poisoned…" _

_Liliana runs away, into the woods, desperate for anything to cure her brother of the ailment. It's not long until she runs into a dark stranger, promising a cure for Josu. And Liliana, in her young age, takes it. I wish I could go into her mind, slap her hand, stop it, change the past, but I know something has just went terribly wrong and it has not even happened yet. _

_As Liliana runs back to the desolate manor, it's all I can do to force myself to keep watching. I have to, we both know. This is the closest tat I can ever come to supporting her in what was no doubt the worst day of her life. Liliana gives him this concoction brewed up by this man, and I want to vomit. He utters something that I cannot understand and then his hands are around my wife's throat. Josu has obviously been driven insane, I cut the vision off right there. I don't need to see any more._

* * *

I feel Jace's magic leave my mind, and along with it, the calmness that he was bringing. I collapse against my husband in a heap of tears. I had never told the story to anyone, just that Josu had died and then I had been banished by our father. He didn't know the specifics until now. My brother had been the only thing- the only person- I'd ever cared for, until I cared for Jace, and then subsequently and almost by default, Kallist Rhoka. I know that letting anyone into our lives, especially given Jace's position of power on Ravnica could be risky- but I needed him to believe me.

"That's my best guess as to why he doesn't trust you; he's terrified of being driven insane again."

This man had been searching for me for Eternities knows how long and had finally traced me when I stayed somewhere long enough to be traced. He hadn't given up, so why couldn't I give him the chance. Somehow, I had to make this apparent to Jace. He obviously sees this on my face and hears my mind screaming at him and for him. He puts his head in his hands. This isn't going to be good; not when the clever crooked smile melts off of his face. It's always a sure sign of Jace getting ready for a fight.

"You realize that he could be out for revenge even if he is who he says he is. He could want you dead. _If he is who he says he is." _

"If the man wanted me dead he could have done it while I was telling you about the baby," I said, quietly. "Neither one of us were paying any attention to what was around us. And he was already there. If he wanted me dead, he could have tried to harm me. He didn't."

"He could be a wolf in sheep's clothing, just waiting, my love. Why are you so blind to that? Why are you incapable of seeing it. Use your perception, Liliana. You are so ruthless; especially when it comes to those you love, so please don't forget about the one that we created!"

"How dare you, Jace Beleren!"

"Liliana, I didn't-"

I had already taken off toward the back part of the house, I didn't want to see him right now. He was treating me like a child that needed to be babysat, just like he did after the attack.

"Remember you promised me that you would stop running! Stop abandoning this!"

"You implied I didn't care about my child, Jace!"

"That's not what I meant. I know you care about our child. I meant that you have to protect them over what you want or what I want. They are the priority, the most important. He could be everything that he says he is, but then he could be nothing, as well. Even if he doesn't want you, how many assassination attempts have there been on me? Too many to count, one too close to call. It would be just like one of the warring guilds, or even Nicol Bolas to try to infiltrate our family unit, the ones we call our family; Gideon and Chandra, Ral, Teysa, Laurel, even Emmara. If they could get someone that they knew that you would die for, that means they would be close to us all. What about the child that will be born a planeswalker? I'm sure many want him or her. And infiltrating our family seems to be the perfect way to do it."

"But Jace- I'm begging you to please at least try, try to see into his mind, anything, let me figure him out, put him in front of the council for all I give a damn! If that's him, and I let him go, I fail him again, then there's no hope for me as a mother, because if I can't be a sister, then how in the name of the Eternities am I going to be a mother?!"

"Liliana, please, my love, it's too much of a risk, the baby isn't worth the risk!"

"It's too much of a risk to you! Would you say the same thing if Kallist James Rhoka was standing in front of us instead? I _know _that neither of us would. I wish that he had never been taken from you, from us, but he was. And I was only sixteen when that man took my brother away from me! Jace, I know he is who he says he is. He's not going to leave this plane. And I won't either. My whole life is here, and you cannot shut me up in this house!"

All of a sudden, there was a sharp pain in my lower abdomen, much like the one in the maze. I gripped hard at the edge of our couch, I wanted to vomit. _No, _I thought. This wasn't happening again. I doubled over in pain; Jace rushed to my side. I thought that I would feel his the soothing mental magic wash over me, but it didn't, instead I could feel it manifest somewhere else. Right in my abdomen. Jace was, or was trying, to read the mind of the baby. His eyes grew to the size of silver coins, his breath caught in his chest.

"Lili, Liliana-"

"What?! Jace? Is it okay? Not again, no, no, no…."

"They-they're fine. There's two of them… Here, listen…"

"T-two-" I yelled at my husband.

"Shhhhh… L-let me…"

It was like a music, nothing like I had ever heard before. There was a rhythmic cadence, not quite thoughts, but not quite a song. And if you concentrated, just hard enough, there were two of them.. two songs, two babies, twins…

I put my head on Jace's shoulder with a smile, everything that was wrong had been erased, if even for a moment, it was just us, the two of us, that had became four. But then, like a chime against a quiet night, there was a wrapping at my front door, disturbing the moment that should have belonged to the four of us.

"Liliana! I know you're in there! And either you're coming out, or I'm coming in!" Josu's voice was strong, Jace's fist clenched. He could hold the door, sure. But he looked at me, my hand on my abdomen, and opened the door.


End file.
